Santa Marta & the Future of Climate Journalism

When representatives from nearly 60 countries met in Santa Marta, Colombia, in April to discuss pathways for accelerating climate action and shifting away from fossil fuels, it represented one of the most significant multinational efforts in recent years to address the climate crisis. It also highlighted the critical role of journalism in helping the public understand complex environmental challenges at a time of intense news cycles, shrinking newsroom resources, and growing disinformation. During this interactive webinar, organized by Covering Climate Now and UNESCO, journalists examined what emerged from Santa Marta, explored the implications for journalists covering climate and environmental, and discussed what lies ahead for environmental journalism. The session also drew on UNESCO’s and OSCE RFoM’s new manual, “Reporting the Environment: A Practical Manual for Journalists” supported by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), highlighting practical tools and approaches for reporting on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, disinformation, science and environmental accountability. The manual was released June 5, on World Environment Day. Covering Climate Now is a global journalism collaboration, co-founded by Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation magazine, encouraging more and better climate coverage. Learn more: https://coveringclimatenow.org